Hey guys, hope this helps some people in some way. Might be stating the obvious to most of you, but felt like it was worth posting.
I've been working on perfecting a possession tactic for a while now, and while I'm still not 100% happy I noticed certain attributes are more important than others for players to have. What surprised me is that technical attributes are actually the least important.
As well as the stats vital for their roles (i.e. tackling for defenders, finishing for strikers), there are some stats you will want most or all of your players to be high in. Here are the stats that players in every position should be at least 14/15 to get the most out of a possession tactic. The 5 I think are absolutely vital are highlighted in red:
Technical Attributes
First Touch - because in a possession tactic your players will (hopefully) be touching the ball a lot, so you want your players to be able to control the ball easily.
Passing - pretty obvious, you will want your players to be good passers of the ball.
Technique - combines with a players passing ability to make them good passers, also vital for strikers to be clinical finishers.
Mental Attributes
Anticipation - because in a tactic where you are constantly moving the ball around with players making runs off the ball, it's essential that your players are always anticipating what's going to happen next. This is one of the most important attributes for players to have in a possession tactic.
Composure - because possession tactics tend to be slow tempo, narrow tactics it means that the opposition will close down & press for the ball. High composure means your players will keep their cool passing game more often and are less likely to just boot the ball into space.
Concentration - most people talk about this as a defenders attribute, but in a possession tactic it's important for all your players because everyone is (hopefully) involved in every phase of the game and a mistake up front late in the game could lead to that killer counter attack.
Decisions - because in a tactic where you are making so many passes and runs off the ball, it's important each decision is the right decision (i.e. whether to pass to feet or a through ball, make another pass or shoot from the edge of the area, etc.)
Off The Ball - important for all players except central defenders because you want your players to constantly finding space and moving into it.
Teamwork - high teamwork means less chance of someone trying to go it alone and dribble from the edge of his own area or take a ridiculous long shot.
Physical Attributes
Acceleration - important for defensive players to be able to keep up with pacey opposition attackers, also for midfielders & attackers to get the 'extra step' on their markers when finding space.
Pace - not as important as acceleration, but usually is similar anyway.
Agility - from my experience so far, agility is one of the most important attributes (definitely the most important physical attribute) for possession tactics. Important for defenders to make the quick turns to start chasing those through balls, and for midfielders & attackers receiving the ball to feet to make that quick turn into space. Vital.
Balance - combines with agility to hold off the marker when making those turns.
Stamina - obvious really, you don't want your players running out of gas.